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Sunday, January 14, 2007

Chocolate Nut Truffle

Another one of my 13-courses posts! This was a small dessert, that I decided to make since no one else was making anything chocolatey, and in my opinion, a fancy dinner needs chocolate. (Any dinner, pretty much.) This recipe is really nice - it's easy to prepare well in advance, and it will keep in the freezer for quite a while. I have leftovers that are over one week old now, and they still taste just fine.

Chop the chocolate and place in a large bowl. Bring the cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Add the butter and the egg yolks, and stir until everything is completely mixed.

Pour this on top of the nut bottom, cover with plastic and place in the freezer.

Thaw before serving, but not completely - it should still be cold and firm. The truffle will be *very* melty if you leave it out for too long. Also, you need to thaw it a little before you cut it. I used a small (but high!) cookie cutter to make the flower shapes.

You can use anything to top it really - I used finely crushed freeze-dried berries, but a little pinch of chilli flakes would be nice, sea salt is always good, a sprinkling of finely ground nuts wouldn't hurt, or by all means just leave it plain. We've had leftover pieces with coffee, or for a slightly more fancy dessert, with a side of a simple raspberry sauce. (Mash raspberries with some powdered sugar.) All good. Very good.